A Victoria cyclist is fighting for his life after a collision with a van at Blanshard and Bay streets Monday afternoon.

Paramedics were called to the scene around 4:30 p.m. and arrived to find the cyclist, in his 30’s, unresponsive with a head injury. The vehicle involved in the collision was a green GMC Safari, said VicPD Const. Mike Russell.

Witnesses told police the cyclist was struck in the intersection by the vehicle.

The man “has a severe head injury and is in ICU in very serious condition and is not yet stable,” Russell said in an email. “There was a helmet at the scene of the collision, but until we finish interviewing the witnesses and looking at the analysis by Saanich, we won’t be able to say for sure if he was wearing it or not.”

Collision analysts are trying to piece together further details, Russell said.

The investigation brought rush-hour traffic to a crawl for several hours.